


By Any Other Name

by Euterpe



Category: Romeo And Juliet - All Media Types, Romeo And Juliet - Shakespeare
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, F/F, Fluff, Gender or Sex Swap, Juliet is confused, Name Changes, Reincarnation, Romeo is a flirty college girl, Tybalt is a bro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-16 23:42:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14821136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Euterpe/pseuds/Euterpe
Summary: Janet lays her head onto the table. After a few moments, she says, “Ty, I have to tell you something.”“Hm.”“At the Kappa party...I, um. I met Romeo.”Tyson stops eating. “Oh.” He sets his fork down. “Uh, okay. So what’s his name this time?”Janet closes her eyes. “Um, her name is Rachel.”





	By Any Other Name

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Before the End of All Things](https://archiveofourown.org/works/131695) by [cjmarlowe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cjmarlowe/pseuds/cjmarlowe). 



> Reincarnation concept taken from "Before the End of All Things" by cjmarlowe, except mine is a poorly written college-AU where Romeo and Juliet are fluffy lesbians.

Janet makes a noise that can only be described as a depressing honk as she dramatically slumps into her seat and face-plants onto the cafeteria table, her hair in a messy bun and her face free of makeup. She’s still wearing her SpongeBob pajama shirt, which has a conspicuous blue toothpaste stain near the collar.

Tyson watches her carefully across the table. He steals a piece of bacon from Janet’s plate when it seems like she has no intention of moving for the rest of the meal.

“Well, you look great this morning,” says Tyson, chewing thoughtfully on the bacon. “Let me guess: party, research paper, or you stayed up all night watching movies where the dog dies again.”

Janet grunts.

“Okay, dog movies it is,” says Tyson. He reaches to steal another piece of bacon.

Janet glares at him for the first time that morning. “I was at the Kappa party, you jerk,” she mumbles. Then she squints at him. “Wait, why weren’t you there? Isn’t it like a rule in the frat code of honor to attend your own party?”

“Why should I be bothered to attend a frat party when I can play League of Legends undisturbed in my own room?”

“Shoot, you’re right.” Janet lays her head back onto the table. After a few moments, she says, “Ty, I have to tell you something.”

“Hm.”

“At the Kappa party...I, um. I met Romeo.”

Tyson stops eating. “Oh.” He sets his fork down. “Uh, okay. So what’s his name this time?”

Janet closes her eyes. “Um, her name is Rachel.”

 

 

 

When Janet next sees Rachel two weeks later, Rachel is standing in the front row of the student theater with an amused smile, and Janet is suspended fifteen feet above her, dangling from the jammed rigging system. Rachel is there because she’s friends with Bennie, the overworked stage manager of this semester’s production, _Peter Pan_. Janet is there because she’s the crew member dumb enough to volunteer to test the rigging so the actor playing Peter Pan, Patrick Escott, wouldn’t have to risk his own life during rehearsal.

Bennie is politely yelling at the fly crew members, who are still tripping over their feet, and Rachel just stands there with her stupid smile and her stupid, soft-looking brown hair. Janet hangs in the air, not so much in fear for her life as she is for her dignity.

Rachel ambles over and rests her arms on the edge of the stage. “Nice balcony scene, huh?” she asks. She has to shout a little, which makes Janet feel slightly worse.

“Well, last time I was stuck on top of a circus elephant in the 1950s, and the time before that, I was stuck in a tree on a French farm while World War I happened below me,” Janet replies. “So yes, whoever’s in charge of this reincarnation thing really has it out for me.”

Rachel giggles. “Yeah, the circus elephant is still my favorite, though this Peter Pan stunt double thing comes pretty close. I hope you’re not expecting me to save you this time. I just got these acrylic nails done yesterday, sorry.”

“Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Thou art instead ‘The Biggest Brat of All Time.’”

“Very funny, Juliet. I’ve died for you a hundred times already. I think I deserve a break.”

Against her better judgement, Janet smiles.

After five minutes, the fly crew finally solves the malfunction and gracelessly lowers Janet to the stage. She lands with an anticlimactic thump. When Janet fumbles out of her harness, Rachel is waiting for her with less of a smirk now and more of a grin, displaying a set of perfectly white teeth. “You’re alive,” says Rachel.

“Yeah, no thanks to you and your acrylic nails.”

Rachel shrugs. “What are you talking about? I was obviously the moral support.”

Before Janet can respond with something witty, Bennie runs out from backstage, very sweaty and very apologetic. “Janet, I’m so sorry about that,” she says. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Only psychologically,” says Janet.

“That’s…not great, but better than I was expecting.” Bennie turns to Rachel. “Rach, what’s the occasion?”

“What, I can’t show up to support my friend’s mess of a production?” There’s that smirk again. “Also, Mercedes wants the keys to the tech booth.”

Bennie shakes her head. “I knew you were up to something. They’re in the side pocket of my bag.” She eyes Janet worriedly. “Hey, let me know if Rach is ever bothering you.”

Janet knows Bennie isn’t talking about rehearsal. “She wasn’t,” Janet says anyway. Bennie looks unconvinced, but she nods and returns backstage, presumably to scold the fly crew again.

“Well, now that my mission’s done,” says Rachel, “I guess I’ll see you later, Juliet.” Janet is close enough to see Rachel’s long eyelashes and the heavy smatter of freckles across her nose. The stage lights amplify the blonde streaks in her hair. It's like she glows. “My sorority’s having a party on Saturday,” she adds, almost hesitantly. “You should come.” And with a wink, she struts away.

Janet thinks that this being a girl thing really suits Romeo.

 

 

 

They’ve known each other by a hundred different names, a hundred different faces. The heirs of two feuding families in Italy. A Chinese peasant and the emperor’s concubine. The sultan’s daughter and her manservant. An actual Pilgrim and a Wampanoag girl. A Caribbean pirate and a naval officer. A German soldier and the daughter of a French farmer. Trapeze artists from competing circus troupes. College students affiliated with rival fraternities.

One cycle may take a week, a month, a year, a generation. They meet, they fall in love, people die. Nothing changes.

 

 

 

Mercedes Vernon, who plays Wendy Darling in _Peter Pan_ , pulls Janet into the tech booth for a “chat” the next day during rehearsal. Janet knows nothing about Mercedes except that she’s Rachel’s best friend and the biggest diva Janet’s ever met, onstage and offstage. Mercedes wastes no time getting to the point. “Did Rachel invite you to the Mu Theta Gamma party on Saturday?” she asks, trapping Janet against the sound panel.

“Um, maybe?”

“If she did, don’t go,” says Mercedes, uncrossing her arms. It’s like she suddenly deflates—she’s less of a diva and more of a regular girl caught in forces outside her control. “I just don’t want no trouble. There’s so much at stake, and we both know it ain’t gonna end pretty.”

“I know,” says Janet. “I don’t want any trouble either.”

 

 

 

Janet doesn’t go to the party on Saturday. Instead, she stays up all night marathoning movies where the dog dies. She cries after each one, but around 2 AM, she starts questioning if her tears are for the dogs or for something else entirely.

She oversleeps so much that she misses breakfast in the cafeteria by a solid half hour. Delirious with hunger, she stumbles into line at Lauren’s Café in the student center.

Of course, the person directly behind her turns out to be Rachel. “Juliet, we meet again,” greets Rachel, halfway through a yawn.

Janet takes comfort in the fact that Rachel seems equally as smashed as Janet feels, although it doesn’t help that Rachel looks incredibly cute in those thick-framed glasses. Janet glances down at her own SpongeBob shirt—the one with the toothpaste stain—and grimaces. “Stop calling me Juliet,” she snaps. “It’s not my name.”

Rachel’s smile disappears. “Sorry, sorry. Bad morning.” She rubs at her temples. Janet notices that her fake nails have peeled away. “Let me make it up to you, Ju-Janet. I’ll pay for your order.”

Janet stares at her. “I’m not even supposed to be talking to you.”

“I know, but free food?”

It’s embarrassing how little Janet thinks about it. “Fine,” she says.

Janet makes sure to order the most expensive item on the menu. If Rachel minds, she doesn’t say anything about it.

They set their food down at a table near the trash can—correction: Janet sets her food down at a table near the trash can, and Rachel follows her. When they settle, Rachel pulls out a worn copy of _Othello_ from her bag and places it on the table. She laughs at Janet’s raised eyebrows. “For my Shakespeare class,” she explains.

“Oh,” says Janet. “Do they know about…?”

“No, it’s none of their business.” Rachel grins. “You’re judging me. I can tell.”

“For taking a Shakespeare class when you’re literally the reincarnation of Romeo Montague? A little.”

Rachel laughs again, bright and disarming. The sound tugs at the bottom of Janet’s stomach. “Hey, it’s important to know where you came from,” says Rachel. “Think about it—aside from visiting Shakespeare’s actual grave, this is the closest you can get to meeting your maker.”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass,” says Janet. She pokes at her omelette with her plastic fork. “How was your party?”

“Eh. Would’ve been better if you were there.”

Janet blinks. “Do you need to be so…so…”

“Blatant? Flirty? Blatantly flirty?” Rachel breaks off a piece of her muffin and toys with it. “Probably not. But I like you, so I want to be.”

Janet stiffens. “How do you know you like me, Janet, versus thirteen-year-old Juliet Capulet from medieval Italy?”

“You mean how do I know I genuinely have feelings for you, and not just because some hotshot in heaven wants me to?” Rachel shrugs. “Does it even matter?”

 

 

 

“How’s Romeo?” Tyson asks one day. He’s sitting across the library table from Janet, simultaneously studying for a biology exam and pretending he isn’t playing League on his laptop.

“She has a name, and it’s Rachel,” Janet replies. “Besides, I wouldn’t really know. I haven’t spoken to her in days.”

“So you’re avoiding her.” He sticks his tongue through his teeth and curses softly when his character dies. “Honestly, I think you’re just trying to delay the inevitable.”

“Sorry for trying to delay an inevitable that involves you dying at the hands of my fated lover.”

Tyson hasn’t taken his eyes off the screen. “If you’re worried about me, I’ve learned to let go and accept it already. So I get in a fight with your boyfriend—well, girlfriend—and I either die or get dissed. It happens in literally every timeline. There’s nothing we can do to change the general outline, so why not go for it? Do what makes you happy.”

“Well, that’s the problem. I don’t know what makes me happy.”

“I think you do.” Tyson glances at her. “I think you do, but you don’t want to admit it.”

Janet rubs at her eyes. “I hate you, Ty.”

“No, you hate it when I’m right.”

“That too.”

 

 

 

The opening night performance of _Peter Pan_ is surprisingly not a complete disaster. The rigging system only snags once, Patrick Escott only forgets eight of his lines, Janet doesn’t miss her cue when she’s supposed to move the pirate ship mast, and Stage Manager Bennie actually has a moment to breathe before she’s off to find someone’s missing sword again. And of course, Mercedes (in her own words) “slays” her performance.

Shortly after the show ends, Janet briefly glimpses Rachel, Bennie, and Mercedes chatting in the lobby among the crowd of theater-goers. Mercedes is holding a bouquet big enough to match her personality. When Rachel catches Janet’s eye across the lobby, she smiles so wide that her eyes practically disappear. Janet smiles back, a little.

“Dude, is that Romeo?” asks Tyson, suddenly appearing at Janet’s side. “You didn’t tell me she was hot. How the hell am I supposed to hate her now?”

Janet tries to punch him in the shoulder, but she ends up hitting his upper arm instead. “Ass,” she says, grinning.

“Good job on the show,” he says, rubbing the wound. “I liked the part when Patrick Escott got stuck midflight. For a second, I really thought he wasn’t coming back down.”

“That was my favorite part too,” someone offers, “though I’m sure Janet can tell you all about how Patrick Escott probably felt dangling in the air.” It’s Rachel, alone now, rosy-cheeked and dazzling. “Hi, I’m Rachel,” she says to Tyson. “I don’t think we’ve met before—in this lifetime.”

“Good to know you’re still as charming as ever, pretty boy,” says Tyson, not missing a beat. “Though I guess you’re less of a boy and more just plain pretty. This reincarnation thing is doing wonders for your skin.”

Rachel giggles. “Thanks.”

Janet rolls her eyes. “So where are SM and Wendy Darling?” she asks Rachel.

“Bennie went back inside to clean up, and Mercedes has, uh, issues with your choice of company,” says Rachel, nodding towards Tyson. “No offense.”

“None taken.”

Janet glances between them, bewildered. “Okay, look, I’m glad you two aren’t trying to kill each other and all, but—"

“You want me to scram so you can spend some quality time with your Romeo,” Tyson finishes for her. “That’s okay, I understand. I’ve got League waiting for me at home anyway.”

“Hey, that’s not what I—”

“Let me know when the wedding is,” he continues, ignoring her. “If it’s tonight, I’m not showing up. Maybe I’ll consider it if it’s tomorrow.” He leaves, but not before giving them an obnoxious thumbs-up and suggestively wiggling his eyebrows.

“I take it back,” says Janet. “I liked it better when you were trying to kill each other.”

Rachel snorts. “Admit it, it’s pretty funny that he out of all people ended up being our biggest supporter.”

“Ugh, whatever.” Janet pauses, fidgeting with the hem of her black T-shirt. “Actually, I really do have something I want to show you. Come with me?” she asks, extending a hand.

“Okay.” As expected, their hands fit perfectly together.

Janet leads Rachel back into the auditorium, which is now empty except for a few crew members cleaning the set. Janet briefly wonders if she should join them, but Rachel’s grip is very warm and very soft, so she figures that Bennie can stand to forgive her just this once.

They stop at a door hidden backstage behind a curtain. Janet tries the handle, and it opens. On the other side of the door is a large spiral staircase. Rachel turns to Janet with a raised eyebrow. “Janet, if you’re bringing me up there to murder me, I’ll have you know that I’m friends with the stage manager, so it really isn’t a good idea—”

“Oh my God, shut up.” Janet tugs Rachel up the staircase until they reach the top. There, stretched out before them in an expanse of black metal, is the catwalk.

“Oh,” is all Rachel says.

Janet moves them along the pathway, trying to ignore how far she is above the ground. “I’ve actually never been up here before,” she confesses. “My job in running crew is to move the set pieces onstage, so I don’t really have any business on the catwalk. Bennie keeps the door locked during rehearsal anyways, but I figured since there was a performance tonight, it would be open, and I guess I was right.” They stop on a platform overlooking the stage, where the remaining crew members scurry around like termites. Janet takes a deep breath as she watches Rachel’s reaction. “Anyway, I brought you here because our last balcony scene was a total mess, and if I’m going to be okay with having feelings for you because some hotshot in heaven wants me to, I need to do things my way. So I guess this is my way of, uh, redoing the balcony scene.”

Rachel stares at her for a long time. Then she shows off her teeth in a smile that Janet quickly realizes is reserved only for her. "Well, if we were doing things  _my_ way," says Rachel, "we would've kissed by now."

Janet laughs, relieved. "We can do things your way in our next life, and the life after that, and the life after that. Just let me have this one, and I'll give you the rest."

"You know, that sounded an awful lot like a marriage proposal."

"Did it? Don't tell Tyson. He'll never let me hear the end of it if I get engaged tonight."

"Deal," says Rachel.


End file.
